Dear Deborah.... What is the Market doing?  Is now a good time to sell my Nampa Idaho Home?    I see signs every where and I don't think anything is selling....is that true?   Confused Soon to Be Seller   Dear Confused.... It is a great time to sell your home in Nampa Idaho...below is a chart where I can show you why you should not hesitate to sell your Nampa Idaho home... This chart shows that we had 200 properties sell in November 2011....this was only down slightly from November 2010 where we had 209 homes sold.   The real number on this chart is the fact that we have only 698 units for sale in the Nampa Idaho Area....including all of Canyon County.   Last year this time we had 1232 units for sale.   Why would it be a good thing to put your home on the market?   As you can see we hav... 12/28/2011

Dear Deborah.... What is the market doing in the Nampa Idaho area?  Every time I run into folks that know I am in Real Estate I am asked this question.... Below is a chart of Average Sales Prices for the past several years!    As the above chart shows the prices have held steady in 2011 to the prices in 2010.    We are at least not in a free fall  of falling prices and we are a tiny bit above 2010. November 2011 average price sold was $87,583 and the average pending price was $90,845.   In Nampa Idaho we have a shortage of homes on the market.   In November 2010 we had 1232 homes on the market and in November 2011 we had 698 homes....quite a drop in inventory.  When this happens many buyers are bidding on the same home and oftentimes pay over the asking price.    This does help the mark... 12/28/2011

We all know that it is the Christmas season when we hear the bells a ringing.   Salvation Army Bell Ringers provide an important service every year to many. I like to drop my change into the buckets around town....I did this yesterday when I snapped this picture.    It doesn't take a lot....but every coin will help to continue on the services of the Salvation Army in Nampa Idaho offers to many. Donating to the Salvation Army is one of the easiest ways to donate every Holiday Sesaon....but the impact is huge! In the past I have taught crafts to the little girls groups....similar to the Brownies.. Nampa Salvation Army has  a community shelter as well.   Many families are helped with the food pantry and don't forget every fall the Back-Pack programs for kids!  If you don't see a kettle aro... 12/21/2011

Here is another great way to donate to help out the needy this holiday season..... How about using coupons the next time you are at the grocery store....not only for items for you and your family......but for items to donate to the Idaho Food Bank or the Boise Rescure Mission or even the Salvation Army.  At Keller Williams Realty Boise we have had a drum all month long to collect food for the Nampa Salvation Army.  Many agents have brought in a few cans or boxes of food to help out....it has added up pretty quickly..... Another fundraiser going on in the Nampa Idaho area is one at the U-Swirl Yogurt stores around the Treasure Valley.   Bring in 4 cans of food and receive a free 10 ounce yogurt with any topping!    Sounds yummy doesn't it??? I read a sign going by the Nampa Lighthouse Re... 12/20/2011

Every year we have so much to be thankful for at our Nampa Idaho  Keller Williams Office. For our office giving back is simply the Culture of our Company.... Some years we have brought in items for the Nampa Family Justice Center Another year we adopted a family that an agent in our office told us about ....between 3 family members having MS and Mom having Cancer and Dad having lost his job...they were the logical charity that year... The past couple of years we have received angel ornaments from the Nampa Salvation Army.  Our office agents all take a few angel requests and we go shopping!!!  I found some Barbie Dolls and Baby Dolls to be able to donate.   My favorite gift collected was from Terry Taylor.....he has 3 little girls at home so he chose "boy" angel cards to shop for.    See... 12/17/2011

It seems every year the list gets longer and longer as to who we send out Calendars to! I have sent out Magnetic Refrigerator Calendars for years... Today I spent the day with Dad.... He came over to the office early and we worked on them all morning!   They aren't quite done as I am still tweaking the list a bit but I will get them mailed out on Monday..,. the balance will be delivered to my neighbors!    After that I treated him to lunch and then we did a bit of Christmas Shopping..... Nothing like spending the day with Dad!!!!  (I apologize for the picture as I had to sneak taking it with my phone....he hates having his picture taken!!!) If you aren't on my Treasure Valley mailing list and you would like a calendar send me a note and I will add you!!  12/09/2011

At a recent craft/gift show ... I ran into Kristi Miller Kristi is a Representative for a new direct selling company Paparazzi If you like bling bling and you are short of cash or you just like fun jewelry and bargains at the same time Then you want to call Kristi.... All of her jewelry is $5.50 (that is with tax included!!!) I invited her to set up a table at our office today where we had our company Christmas potluck!   The girls went crazy over her product... She brought in Necklaces, Earrings, bracelets, rings, Headbands, hairclips and lots of other fun stuff... She even had a kids basket with earrings and rings for $1.50 each!  As a hostess I earned 5 pieces....2 floral brooch/hairpins and 3 necklace sets!   Call or text Kristi Miller today at (208) 570-4371 to book your show! or s... 12/08/2011

Dear Deborah We purchased our home in 2010 in Nampa Idaho....we were fortunate enough that we qualified for the $8000 tax credit.    Now my husband has lost his job and has been unable to find any work.    We think we better sell our home rather than let the bank take it in foreclosure....but we have a problem.... What do we do about the tax credit?    We know that we have to pay it back if we live there less than 3 years....we don't have $8000 to pay it back.    We know we can't sell our home for what we bought it for.    Please help.... Desperate!   Dear Desperate I am so sorry to hear about your troubles.... I have done a little bit of research for you ......Talking to an accountant we have discovered that it will depend on the tax credit you received.   The document that we found st... 12/01/2011

Dear Deborah.... Why can't I find a home to buy that isn't owned by a bank or in a Short Sale in Canyon or Ada County?    Well that is a good question..... The reason is that many folks can not sell their homes without doing a short sale as they do not have enough equity....   Here are some statistics provided by Hennessy Appraisors and Intermountain MLS   For the year from January to October we have had the following sales   Town                  Distressed                            Typical                           Total                      Number        Percent              Number     Percent              Sales Notus               2                100%                  0               0%                   2 Caldwell            646             76.2%                202            23.... 11/30/2011

  Dear Deborah....   Should I sell my home  in Ada or Canyon County?      I hear this question every single day....   To answer the question I have compiled some data for you on the average prices of homes in Ada County and Canyon County.    Average Sales Price                               October 2011/2010               September 2011/2010                   August 2011/2010                        Ada County           $174,000/$172,000                 $171,000/$185,000                       $175,000/$186,000Canyon County        $87,400/98,600                        $83,900/86,400                           $87,100/$92,000   As you can see.... Our Average Prices are staying pretty steady....we are still a bit behind 2010 numbers....but we are not in a free fall!   Why are prices lower th... 11/30/2011

Dear Deborah.... Are properties selling in Ada or Canyon County?    I hear this question every single day....   To answer the question I have compiled some data for you   Units Sold                             October 2011/2010                       September 2011/2010          August 2011/2010                      Ada County                      581/511                                   625/553                             673/490Canyon County                 279/245                                   266/257                             298/259 As you can see.... October's numbers are a bit lower than September and August for Ada County...but much better compared to 2010. Canyon County had more units sold in October than September but less than August's number of units....but still numbe... 11/30/2011

Lifestyle in Nampa, Idaho is enhanced by Northwest Nazarene University. Colleges and Universities around our nation have contributed to communities in many ways.  Lifestyle, or how a community lives out its beliefs, is one area of contribution which is most noticeable.  Politically, some Universities are blamed for setting a liberal mindset and some a conservative one, which plays out in either a liberal or conservative lifestyle of social interactions.  For example, Berkley, CA is commonly perceived as the birth place of the sexual revolution of the 60’s.In Nampa, ID we have a University.  It contributes to our lifestyle.  But, the politics of our community is only one part of the contribution which our University makes to our lifestyle.  Because of its mission to prepare young people ... 11/23/2011

It has been a crazy couple of months as I sell Real Estate...   But my other passion is creating....     Come By and see me at the Nampa Idaho Center Annual Christmas Show.... If you can't make it perhaps you would like to See My Booth Creating is how I relax.... Embrodiering or sewing is what I like best!!!  What do you do to relax???   11/19/2011

If you haven't been to Saggy Drawers in Nampa Idaho you really need to head on over there! Stacey has a beautiful shop filled with Shabby Chic decor as well as Primitives... Check out the Album of all sorts of photos of the shop on my Facebook Page She also has all sorts of re-purposed furniture items!     I just got this notification that she is having an open house there.... If you look hard enough you may even find some of my Raggedy Annie dolls, stitcheries or the ornaments I have hand crafted!    Check out her open house announcement!!!   Christmas Open House   We are having our Christmas Open House this week! For three days we will be celebrating the upcoming holiday with snacks, adult refreshments and best of all...door prizes!  We will be opening earlier and staying open until 7... 11/03/2011

The Sky is Falling the Sky is falling... How many times have we heard this?   Actually when it comes to housing sales in the Nampa Idaho area the sky is not falling.... House prices are continuing to increase this year.   Below is a chart of pricing since 2005   Home prices have increased over last year on the average.....of course they are not racing to the 2006 high levels....nor do we expect them to at any time.   However better news is that when you average out the last 9 months of sales (ytd 2011) we find the average price to be even higher than the chart above....we are at an average of $88,077 and the pending sales are at an average price of $92,428.   Great news for folks trying to sell their Canyon County Home.   Because of the shortage of homes in Canyon County we expect the a... 10/31/2011

I heard a great tip for parents of Trick or Treaters in Nampa Idaho  Before you send out your goblins tonight Check out the websites for the Sex Crime Registry's Here are a couple to check out whether your neighbors house has a predator.... Idaho State Police's Site or Offender Watch We want our trick or treaters to be safe.. Another note If some one is registered on the Sexual Predator list....they must not have their lights on at their house during the annual Trick or Treating.... So don't let your kids go to houses where the lights are out!  Be safe...and don't forget your flashlight!      10/31/2011

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One of the crafting forums I frequent recently posted this link It has many of our country's penny postcards listed on the site Go and check out some great history... Click on your state and county!   I was amazed that over all....not counting what the cars on the street looked like... My downtown Nampa looks almost the same Kudos to the business owners who have renovated and restored many of the buildings to their original look!   No more fake facades... I am posting a picture of the same down town streets today in Nampa Idaho I found it interesting....I hope you do too!!!     10/29/2011

I started on Active Rain the summer of 2009.  I wrote a couple of blogs...but didn't really know what I was doing.... In February of 2010 I got a bit more serious with my blogging... I created some really good habits...and have been pretty consistently blogging every week...usually every day.... Some weeks were easier than other and more consistent.   I have participated in quite a few contests and challenges to help my blogging... I slowly moved up in the rankings based on points for my state.... I passed over all those in Nampa Idaho and in Canyon County...the top state position remained elusive.. I am not sure why ...but a few active bloggers dropped out of the picture this year.....so there only remained one ahead of me....and Janna Rankin Scharf was very active...   In September of... 10/28/2011

It used to be that many of us would either throw away or                                                       flush down the toilet our unused or expired medications   Now....we are told...that isn't the best route to go.... If we flush them down the toilet we risk contamination to our Rivers and Lakes...such as Lake Lowell.  Throwing them away will contaminate our landfills... What should we do instead??? Drop them off at the Nampa Civic Center on Saturday October 29th, 2011 Folks will be on hand to collect the medications from 10-2 Address is 311 3rd Street South Nampa Idaho No questions will be asked when you drop off the drugs..... So check out your medicine cabinets and make sure you don't have any old medications at home.   Remember it isn't safe to leave meds around when childre... 10/28/2011